


Determination

by pchberrytea



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bittersweet, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Soulmates, Threats of Violence, i harbor very little good will toward the institute, this likely won't be finished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 06:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30017853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pchberrytea/pseuds/pchberrytea
Summary: Self determination is not a malfunction, but what is the journey to that acceptance like?
Relationships: Paladin Danse (Fallout)/Original Female Character(s), Paladin Danse/Female Sole Survivor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	Determination

**Author's Note:**

> I've already tagged for it, but be warned that there is violence, or at the very least the allusion to it, within.

Birth. 

It wasn’t a pain that was...easy to forget. 

Nerve endings were exposed to sterile air as your body jolted to life, leaving you to feel as if the entirety of your still-unfinished body were aflame. You’d still be unable to cry out in agony until you were dipped and the process were wrapped up – but by then it didn’t matter. 

“ _Welcome home_ ,” a scientist would say when you stepped out of the pool, and all in a whirl you’d be dressed and whisked away for assignment. 

That had been so long ago, almost a distant nightmare that kept itself buried deep beneath countless other memories and threats. 

Until it wasn’t. 

Unit M7-97 was minding his own business. Keeping his head _down_. Scavenging some derelict scrapyard for parts and almost enjoying the notion that he had the privilege of leaving the labs. It was only by some miracle that the Courser escort was otherwise occupied when that once-distant pain seared again through his body and knocked him to the ground. 

His jaw was clenched tight and he couldn’t even cry out, let alone form any coherent thought beyond “ _damn it!”_ while he lay in the dust with his muscles locked and unable to move. There was a fuzzy, fleeting thought of death amidst the unbearable pain, followed by a wave of dizziness - but all of the sensations only lasted a few seconds. Just as soon as that pain hit, it was gone again. 

One of the other synths in the scavenging party stared down at him, eyes wide. 

“Are you okay?” unit L3-41 hissed as M7 made a weak attempt to haul himself back up to his feet. 

_No_ , he wanted to say through gritted teeth. That much should have been obvious. What part of this looked even _remotely_ okay to L3? 

His answer didn’t come in the form of words. Instead, he answered the other synth by buckling back over and retching at his feet, bright light and nausea once again assaulting him in waves. Had he just been stricken by a shock baton? Another fleeting notion of panic crossed his mind before he brushed it away – no reprimand by a shock baton had ever left him feeling like this. 

He was confident that he’d done nothing wrong. 

Aside from that, the courser escort was still around the corner just outside of the junkyard fence, laser fire still echoed through the air. There was nobody around to whisper threats in his ear, though he could swear he heard muted voices murmuring something that he couldn’t quite make out. Almost as if he were submerged. 

_“Welcome to your new home,”_ echoed a voice in the back of his mind, crisp and clear this time. _“Step right this way.”_

Goosebumps prickled across his skin and he shuddered, a chill taking him over even as the sun beat down on their backs. 

This had to be some sort of malfunction. 

**Author's Note:**

> A friend said "what if synth soulmates?" and then I immediately ended up enamored with the danger of it all.
> 
> So... I'm marking this as complete for now, mostly because this is on the back burner and I don't want to make y'all any promises that I can't keep. Even so, I wanted to clean this up and share what I had just because I liked it.


End file.
